Irish general election, 1961

The Irish general election, 1961 was held on 1 July 1961. The people of Ireland elected a new Dail Eireann, and Fianna Fail returned to power after ousting the ruling Fine Gael-Sinn Fein "Gluaiseacht Poblachtach Forásach" coalition and defeating the challenging Irish Labor Party in a landslide. The election shattered the Labor Party's electoral capabilities, and it led to over a decade of Fianna Fail rule.

History
The Gluaiseacht Poblachtach Forásach coalition of Fine Gael and Sinn Fein gained power in the 1957 general election, with Fintan O'Dowd emerging as the leader of the progressive-conservative coalition. He passed several pieces of progressive legislation, most notably the abolition of capital punishment, but he lost popularity for raising taxes. Fianna Fail made a comeback due to an increased desire to relieve the upper and middle classes of their burdensome tax rates, with Finbar Brannigan leading Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fail's main competition in the election was the Irish Labor Party, which sought to raise tariffs instead of taxes. However, Fianna Fail's free trade stances won it the support of factory owners, and its record of solving the Fiachsteria crisis helped it further. The Labour Party soon found itself outnumbered even in its own former strongholds such as County Donegal and County Limerick, and Fianna Fail succeeded in attracting millions of people to its liberal campaign.

The result of the election was an overwhelming Fianna Fail sweep. Fianna Fail captured every county with a considerable lead, with the Labour Party coming in close second. Fine Gael, which had mustered 34.36% of the vote in the last election, was now reduced to just 13.14%, while Sinn Fein lost 7% of its voting base. Fianna Fail's victory resulted in Finbar Brannigan becoming Taoiseach, and the party would remain in power for over ten more years.

Results

 * Fianna Fail glyph.png Fianna Fail - 53.58%


 * Irish Labor Party glyph.png Irish Labor Party - 21.85%


 * Fine Gael glyph.png Fine Gael - 13.14%


 * Sinn Fein logo.jpg Sinn Fein - 11.43%